Apple’s Rumored Television Should Be Called iPanel, Analyst Says

Apple's rumored television set could be called the iPanel. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired

If you owned the branding for a multibillion-dollar tech corporation, and were choosing a name for your first-ever television set, you’d probably spend a good amount of time choosing the perfect name for your product.

But whatever that name is, it probably won’t be iTV, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek told Barron’s. Nope, Apple’s rumored-to-be-in-development television should be called the iPanel, because the display will be “far more” than just an ordinary television set.

Why not iTV? Well, in addition to the device’s multiple talents, Apple would also likely have difficulty getting naming rights from the UK TV network ITV, Misek said. As for the name iPanel, it’s currently owned by Crestron, a company that provides home and business automation solutions using Apple products. But the iPanel product has been discontinued, so the name is more reasonably attainable.

Based on supply-chain observations in Asia, Misek thinks production for iPanel will begin in May or June, and the display will ship in Q4 this year.

Rumors that Apple is working on a television have been surfacing for at least six months now. In early February, there were reports that Apple was reaching out to component suppliers, but other than that, nothing truly concrete is known about the TV. That said, it’s widely speculated to include some combination of Siri-like voice control or gesture control, possibly in conjunction with one’s iPhone or iPad.

Personally, I think the name iPanel sounds like a load of iCrock. iPanel sounds way too techy for mass-market consumers. But then again, there will be backlash no matter what Apple names any real or mythical product. Back when the first iPad launched, a lot of people thought the name iPad was dumb, and now it’s a household name we don’t think twice about.

What are your thoughts on the name iPanel? Weigh in down in the comments section.